


(when we die) we will die with our arms unbound

by aromanticpicard



Category: Yogscast "High Rollers" D&D Campaign
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Friendship, Gen, I'm just really emotional abt Sentry all the time tbh, Spoilers through episode 36, also this could prob be rated G but I just tagged it T because of the character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 14:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19443499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aromanticpicard/pseuds/aromanticpicard
Summary: guardian (noun):a defender, protector or keeper.or, a short character study of Sentry through the years.





	(when we die) we will die with our arms unbound

**Author's Note:**

> title from "this is why we fight," by the decemberists!

It’s the end of the world.

Debris clatters against Sentry’s shield as she stands over the royal family, the ones whom she has served so faithfully all these years. Her muscles, wood and metal and magic, strain under the weight as Solwynn crumbles around her.

The king finishes scribing the transportation circle, and for the briefest of moments, hope swells in Sentry’s chest. And then, as quickly as it had come, it is replaced by sheer, freezing terror and adrenaline as a massive wall of water slams into her, catching her shield and tearing her along with it, out into the roiling sea. In the distance, lava is spilling from the supposedly dormant volcano, taking with it another part of the already-disintegrating city.

As it turns out, drifting through the ocean for months on end gives one plenty of time to worry. Sentry’s last glimpse of the royal family as she was swept away had been the king slamming his hand down on the transportation circle. They had teleported away, sure, but what then? Had they found safety on the other side? Was there even any place safe to go? For all she could tell, the entire world as she knew it was gone.

And then, something heavy slams into her head, and there is only darkness.

-

The night is cold, and as Sentry volunteers for first watch, the relief is evident on her friends’ faces as they settle into their warm bedrolls. The fire has long since been put out - too much of a risk, out here - and so the only light in the camp is the soft purple glow of Sentry’s eyes as they flicker between each of her sleeping friends, warmth blossoming in her chest as she considers each of them.

_Quill, sharp-eyed and bright, inquisitive, an explorer by nature. The one to pull her from her centuries-long slumber, who became her anchor in this new, strange world. And yet, he is also so young and so anxious; Sentry notices the way he looks to her for safety, the way he ducks behind her during fights, and she knows that every blow she takes for him is worth it._

_Nova, clever and bubbly, never content to sit still when there is still so much to learn, so many questions to ask, the kind of kid who will someday change the world with her ideas. But she’s also so painfully, naively optimistic; sometimes, all Sentry wants to do is put an arm around her and shelter her from everything dangerous in the world._

_Aila, tough and no-nonsense, simultaneously a kindred spirit and Sentry’s total opposite. Sentry watches the lightning crackle down Aila’s muscular arms as she raises her hammer, and feels a swell of pride, a harmony during battle that Aila can’t ever seem to find during normal conversations. She’ll get there, Sentry thinks. Someday._

_Lucius, so naive, so clueless about the world beyond his own doorstep, and yet so open and so kind. He does not hesitate to give his money or his heart to anybody who asks. Watching him, Sentry prays that in experiencing the world, he will not encounter anything that will too far dampen his good-heartedness._

As the others sleep peacefully around her, the cold night air still and quiet, Sentry looks up to the stars in the Cradle and whispers a prayer to Siaska, to keep them safe.

-

The clanging of swords, the whoosh of magic being flung about, and the smell of blood and death fill Sentry’s senses as she stands over Nova’s unconscious body in the Brightflame Abbey. As the guards converge on Sentry, swinging flaming swords at her, malice in their eyes, fear, freezing cold, courses through her entire body.

The fiery sword cuts up at her chest, and in a fleeting moment of dread, she raises her shield, but knows in her gut that she will miss. This is it. This is the end.

_She has been here before. Memories of standing over another group, another family, scrambling to escape, come flooding back to her. Standing over them, their protector, buying them time to escape - only to find herself ripped away from them at the last, crucial moment._

Sentry’s world is ending. The sunlight grows dim around her as she falls, face-first, onto the floor of the abbey. Distantly, someone - no, that’s not quite right, there are multiple voices - is screaming.

_For them, I would do it again in a heartbeat_ , she thinks, and then the world goes dark.

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all liked this!! I love Sentry so, so much and wanted to write some more about her. :)
> 
> thanks to @roll-high on tumblr for helping me decide what to write about!
> 
> if you want to follow me elsewhere, I am @aro-caduceus on tumblr and @muttr_ on twitter!!!


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